H2j?05[r    OF  TEE  A:TOHlliSy  ^EirSIiAL 
No'''''em'ber   1,    1864 
and 
22P0HT   OF  TK2  SUPESILTSNDEITT  OF 

FjBLic  ?Eii:'r.Li;G 

OctolDer  26,    1864 


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THE  FLOWERS  COLLECIiOW  ^ 


Pt  E  I=*  O  R.  T? 


OP    THE 


ATTOENEY  GE:KEKAL. 


Department  op  Justice,      ) 
Richmond,  1st  November,   1864.  5 

To  THE  President: 

Sir  :  Since  my  report  of  25th  April  last,  there  has  been  nothing 
in  the  affairs  of  this  department  calling  for  special  comment. 

I  beg  leave  to  renew  the  recommendation,  then  made,  that  Con- 
gress should  provide  for  a  more  general  distribution  of  the  laws. 
The  act  of  oth  of  August,  18G1,  directs  that  three  thousand  pamphlet 
copies  of  the  laws  shall  be  printed  at  the  close  of  each  session  of 
Congress ;  and  after  providing  for  the  distribution  of  a  certain  num- 
ber, enacts,  that  "the  remaining  copies  shall  be  preserved  in  the 
Department  of  Justice,  subject  to  the  further  order  of  Congress." 
The  number  thus  ordered  to  be  distributed,  is  about  eleven  hundred, 
and  the  number  remaining  to  be  preserved  in  this  department  is 
about  nine  hundred,  exclusive  of  one  tliousand  copies  directed  to  be 
bound  in  calf. 

Since  the  passage  of  that  act,  the  military  courts  have  been  estab- 
lished with  a  jurisdiction  extending  to  all  offences  defined  as  crimes 
by  the  laws  of  the  Confederate  States.  The  judges  and  judge  advo- 
cates of  these  courts  are  not  provided  with  copies  of  the  laws,  and 
frequent  complaints  are  made  of  the  impossibility  of  procuring 
them.  At  the  last  session,  the  House  of  Representatives  passed  a 
resolution  authorizing,  and  requesting  the  Attorney  General  to  fur- 
nish each  member  of  these  courts  with  a  copy  of  the  acts,  and,  in  somo 
urgent  cases,  I  have  not  scrupled  to  act  in  compliance  with  the  reso- 
lution. But  it  is  needless  to  remark  that  a  resolution  of  ona  Mouse 
cannot  change  the  provisions  of  a  law,  nor  authorize  the  Attorney 
General  to  make  any  other  distribution  than  that  which  the  aforesaid 
act  prescribes. 

Tne  judges  of  the  Supreme  and  Superior  Courts  of  the  States  are 
also  ofcen  compelled  to  pass  upon   questions  arising  out  of  the  legia- 


s 

lation  of  Congress  ;  and  they,  too,  are  unprovided  with  copies  of  the 
laws,  as  are  also  the  Commissioners  of  the  District  Courts  of  the 
Confederate  States. 

It  is  desirable  that  all  of  these  officers  should  be  provided  by  law 
vrith  copies  of  all  the  acts,  as  they  can  now  be  had  in  no  other 
way. 

I  have  the  honor  to  transmit,  herewith,  the  report  of  the  Super- 
intendent of  Public  Printing,  showing  the  /condition  of  that  branch 
of  the  public  business. 

GEORGE  DAVIS, 

Attorney  General. 


P^EP^OPtT 


OF    THE 


SUPERINTENDED  OF  PUBLIC  PRINTING. 


Bureau  of  Public  Printing, 
Richmond f  Oct.  26,  IS64. 

Hon.  George  Davis, 

Attorney  General: 

Sir  :  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that  the  embarrassments 
noticed  in  my  report  of  April  2Gth,  have,  in  a  great  measure,  been 
removed  by  the  passage  of  the  act  approved  June  3d,  1864.  The 
third  section  of  that  act  provides  for  contracts  by  the  heads  of  the 
Executive  Departments,  and  also  for  the  apportionment  of  the  work, 
in  the  absence  of  such  contracts,  among  "any  number  of  contractors 
and  printing  establishments,"  as  suggested  in  my  annual  report  of 
November,  1863.  With  the  exception  of  the  Postollice,  Treasury, 
and  War  Departments,  contracts  Avere  made.  The  Postoffice  Depart- 
ment had  made  a  contract  for  four  years  "with  Messrs.  Ritchie  k  Dun- 
navant,  and  it  was  deemed  best  not  to  annul  it.  The  Treasury 
Department  assumed  the  responsibility  of  doing  their  own  work, 
without  the  superintendence  of  this  office.  The  War  Department- 
was  left  entirely  to  the  management  of  this  bureau  ;  and,  accordingly, 
after  inviting  proposals  from  the  several  printing  offices  in  this  city, 
I  made  the  following  schedule  of  prices,  which  was  accepted  unani- 
mously : 

"  Bureau  of  Public  Printing,  > 
Richmond,  Aug.  12,  1S64.      J 

"  Gentlemen  :  I  am  now  prepared  to  offer  you,  upon  the  following 
terms,  a  portion  of  the  printing  of  the  Government.  The  right  to 
modify  these  rates  is  reserved,  should  the  cost  of  labor  or  material  at 
any  time  decline  ;  and  I  would  feel  bound  to  pursue  a  corresponding 
course  with  reference  to  any  increased  expenditures  you  might  incur, 
the  object  being  a  fair  and  liberal  compensation  for  labor  actually 
performed,  and  the  other  expenses  incident  thereto  : 


<*For  composition,  (plain,)  per  1,0U()  ems,  $3  50 

*'For  composition,  (rule  or  tigure,)  per   l.Dili)  eais,  6  75 

**For  coiii{)Osition,  (rule  and  iigur.',)  per  1,000  ems,  3   00 

**Presswork,  per  token,  of  250  impressious,  or  fraciion  of  sul-U 

token,  3  00 

"For  ruling  blanks — 

"Letter  size,  per  ream,  each  ruling,  4  00 

*'Cap         ''      •'       •'       "         •'  6  00 

"Demy    ■  "       "       "       "         "  7  00 

"Meciium  "      "       "       "         "  9  00 

"Double  medium,  (muster  and  pay  rolls,  ruled  on  both  sides,) 
whole  cost  per  ream,  12  00 

**For   binding    in     full    or    in    half    binding,    book    of    four 
quires — 

"Imperial,  20  00 

"Super-Royal,  15  00 

"Royal,  medium,  and  demy,  10  00 

"Cap  and  letter,  5  OO 

"For  each  additional  quire,  one  dollar.  The  binding  stock  or  mate- 
rial will  be  furnished  bj'  this  office ;  when  not-so  furnished,  you  will 
be  allowed  cost  and  ten  per  cent.  Ruling  for  blank  books  to  be  at  the 
rate  allowed  for  blanks — less  than  a  ream  to  count  as  a  ream  ;  more 
than  a  ream  and  less  than  two  reams,  in  proportion  for  the  excess. 
"For  folding  stitching,  covering,  and  trimming  pamphlets,  per  thou- 
sand copies — 

"Three  signatures,  $40  00 

"Four  signatures,  45  00 

"Five  signatures,  50  00 

"Eight  signatures,  60  00 

"Ten  signatures,  75  00 

"For  simple  folding,  stitching,  and  trimming,  without  cov- 
ers, per  signature,  per  thousand  copies,  10  00 
"For  simple  folding    and  trimming,    (general   orders,  circu- 
lars, etc.,)  not  exceeding  four  pages,  per  1,0(J0  copies,  5  00 
"  Paper  will  be  furnished  by   this  oifice  as  far  as  possible ;  when 
furnished  by  you,  cost  and  ten  per  cent,  will  be  allowed. 

"The  above  tariif  of  prices  has  been  made  after  a  careful  consid- 
eration of  the  several  propositions  t-ent  to  this  bureau  in  answer  to 
the  circular  letter  of  the  bth  instant.  I  believe  it  to  be  fair  and  just 
to  all  parties.  Heretofore  the  work  of  the  War  Department  has  been 
done  under  one  contract,  and  it  was  found  impossible  to  prevent 
delavs.  Under  the  proposed  arrangement  it  will  be  divided,- and  it  is 
easy  to  perceive  that  the  Government  and  those  who  perform  the  ser- 
vice will  be  better  satisfied. 

"  Should  you  accept  the  propositions  herewith  submitted,  please 
notify  me  at  your  earliest  convenience." 

The  result  has  been  highly  satisfactory,  and,  until  a  printing  office 
can  be  established  by  the  Government,  of  sufHcient  capacity  to  do  all 
its  work,  it  is  the  only  arrangement  that  will  meet  the  requirementr'^ 
of  the  servico. 


5 

The  bills  for  the  printing  of  Congress  and  the  several  Exooftiive 
Departments,  examined,  approvei  and  par^sed  for  payment,  siucu  die 
first  of  January  last,  foot  up  two  hundred  and  thirty-one  thou^uud 
five  hundreil  and  fifty-three  dollars  and  fifty-nine  cents,  (2 j 1, 553  59,) 
of  which  tlie  following  is  a  statement  in  detail : 

War  Department,  1$19U,958   13 

Treasury  Department,  5,410  67 

State  Department,  186  00 

Congress,  34,989  79 


Total,  $231,553  59 


There  are  outstanding  bills  to  a  very  considerable  amount.  The 
bills  for  the  War  Department  only  cover  the  work  ordered  previous 
to  the  first  of  May  last;  for  Congress  a  complete  settlement  has  been 
made  to  the  close  of  the  last  session,  with  the  exception  of  a  portion 
of  the  reports  of  battles,  not  yet  printed,  the  printers  employed  on 
that  -work  having  been  called  to  the  field  for  the  defence  of  the  capital. 

I  am  enabled  to  present  a  full  statement  of  expenditures  for  the 
year  ending  December  31st,  1863,  as  follows  : 

War  Department,  $173,997  50 

Treasury  Department,  85,237  49 

Congress,  ,33,548  62 

Post-Office  Department,  5,438  97 

Navy  Department,  2,761   30 

State  Department,  333  93 

Department  of  Justice,  184  87 


$301,502  68 


From  the  statements  above  given,  it  will  be  perceived  that  there  has 
been  a  very  large  increase  in  the  cost  of  printing  since  last  year  ; 
but  the  cause  will  readily  suggest  itself  to  your  mind  when  you  recol- 
lect the  increased  price  paid  for  labor,  and  the  enhanced  price  of 
paper  and  every  other  species  of  material  used  in  executing  the  work. 

On  the  books  of  the  Treasury  Department  the  following  sums  re- 
main to  the  credit  of  the  printing  fund : 
For  the  printing  of  both  Houses  of  Congress,  including  the  printing 

of  the  laws  and  journals  in  book  form,  $26,041   46 

For  the  printing  of  the  several  Executive  Departments 

of  the  Government,  128,586  26 

For  the  purchase  of  paper  for  the  printing  of  the  seve- 
^ral  Executive  Departments  and  Congress,  2,483  45 

It,  will  be  observed,  therefore,  that  the  appropriations  already  made 
for  the  printing  of  the  present  year  will,  in  all  probability,  fall  short 
of  the  amount  needed,  it  being  impossible  to  make  an  exact  estimate 
for  the  want  of  accurate  information  as  to  the  quantity  of  printing 
required  by  the  several  departments  for  a  given  period.  There  is  also 
this  additional  reason,  the  fluctuations  in  the  price  of  paper. 

A  contract  was  made  with  Messrs.  Evans  &  Cogswell,  of  Columbia, 


6 

South  Carolina,  for  the  printing  of  the  **  Digest  of  the  Laws,"  or- 
dered at  a  recent  session  of  Congress.  The  work  has  be^n  delayed 
because  of  the  difficulty  in  procuring  paper  of  a  proper  quality,  and 
the  taking  of  the  printers  employed  upon  it  for  military  service. 
Tkese  difficulties  having  been  overcome,  the  work  is  progressing 
rapidly,  and  I  expect  to  be  able  to  deliver  the  book  by  the  first  of 
December  at  furthest. 

I  have  the  honor,  sir,  to  be, 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

GEO.  E.  W.  NELSON, 
Superintendent  Public  Printing. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2010  with  funding  from 
Duke  University  Libraries 


http://www.archive.org/details/reportofattorney03conf 


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